1 /5 MJ G: This will be the first and last time that my family will visit the evening outdoor scene primarily due to lack of safety, violence, and an unfitting crowd attraction.
The outdoor concept is nice, however, the “coffee-and-hot-rod” scene was a spectacle I do not think was appropriate for the grounds in addition to tight parking (when reversing). You have women associated with this car club wearing miniskirts and their midsection showing on church grounds along with hearing cussing from teens and young adults which conflicts with what we believe would be discouraged on church grounds.
Food wait: We arrived around 6PM and my husband left the line after waiting 30 minutes with no movement. I’m sure the food is great, but just prepare for that wait if you want to sacrifice a person or three to stand in line while others socialize. We couldn’t with young kids we had to watch. It may be an hour before you reach the truck to order and who knows how long before your name is called to pick up the food.
Safety: I have young kids 6 and under who were treated poorly. The playground was not safe for toddlers due to the older children around 9-11 years old whizzing through and almost knocking them down multiple times.
Violence: One of the boys with blonde hair around 9 years old hit my 4 year old son (I repeat: 9 Y.O. hits a 4 Y.O.) on the shoulder out of no where hard enough to make him almost cry which means it was quite hard as my son tolerates pain quite well. The kid ran away and shouted something at him. I immediately pulled my kids out of there. This has left a negative experience for me and my son while the abusive kid leaves the rest of the night fine with no reprimand. We’ve never experienced this even on the busy days at Raymond Rimkus Park which we frequent quite often.
Final recommendations:
I strongly advise against bringing kids 6 and under. If you plan to spend at least an hour waiting for your dinner and stay at the picnic tables with no kids that need to be closely monitored, this is a nice spot to chat with friends.
I also see a lost opportunity to educate visitors on the church with a pamphlet or QR code on the picnic tables and play areas if the church evangelizes. My family already attends a church, but having this one so close to us would have been a nice place to let our kids create new friendships with hopefully like-minded Christian brothers and sisters, but unfortunately there seemed to be no representation of that.
